Hair Loss with Chemical Burn — Is It Seen Right Away Or Delayed?

When you put bleach on someones head and they get a chemical burn wouldn’t they notice it while the bleach was on their head and even more so once the bleach is taken off of their head? I had a client who had her hair done by me June 8th and she is just now coming back to complain about chemical burn on July 19th! Which I think is kind of odd. Usually when people get a chemical burn they know it right away, right? Or atleast the next day or definitely by the 2nd or 3rd day at the latest. Not a month and a half later. I need your help with this please!!!

In general, any burn or local scalp irritation can cause hair loss. Chemicals can work their way down the hair shaft to get at the growth centers which lies at the bulb (5-6 mm deep) or at the bulge (about 2-3 mm from the skin surface). For heat burns, you should have a second or third degree burn to the skin and see it quickly, but for chemicals burns, it might take weeks for the full damage to be known. If the chemical burn causes complete loss of the hair growing centers, then the hair will fall out in 7-14 days, but if there is partial damage to just part of the growing follicle, this may take more than a month to understand the damage. Varying insults may force hair follicles to go into their resting phase (telogen) and after 2-6 months, it may go into its growth phase (anagen). In your situation, hair loss may be seen as early as a few days after the injury or it may also take weeks to see the full impact.